It is common for the windshields of power boats, various land vehicles, and the like, to have hard exposed upper edge portions, which are usually of narrow construction and may have angular features as well. Consequently, such windshields represent a serious hazard to the operator and his passengers, as for example if a collision were to occur or if the boat were to run aground. Although in some instances protective padding and molding pieces have been installed on windshields to minimize the risk of injury, as far as is known no satisfactory product has heretofore been proposed that is adapted for retrofitting so as to provide such protection.
Confer U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,031 provides an impact-absorbing bumper pad on the uppermost portion of a protective frame, the frame being designed for removable mounting on a snowmobile or the like. Heuzonter U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,620 discloses an integral rubber or plastic protective profile member, which is intended to reduce the risk of injury from accidental impact upon the frame of a boat windshield. Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,969 provides resilient trim for a windshield, and Keithley U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,774 shows a retrofit structure provided to protect tarpaulins for boats and other vehicles.
Accordingly, it is the broad object of the present invention to provide a novel, retrofittable protective article for cushioning the upper edge of a windshield, so as to significantly reduce the risk of injury presented thereby to the operator and passengers of a boat or other vehicle.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide such an article which is attached to the windshield by use of VELCRO.RTM. (hook-and-loop fastener) components present thereon, and which does not interfere with emplacement of a conventional cockpit cover or with a split window operation.
Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly comprising such a protective article disengagably mounted upon the upper edge of a windshield.
Additional objects of the invention are to provide such an article and assembly having the foregoing features and advantages, which are also of relatively simple and uncomplicated construction, and relatively facile and inexpensive to manufacture and employ.